Fifteen
by Harmony Goldstar
Summary: Emily's first day, and first few weeks, of high school. She meets a new best friend & goes out on a date. Typical high school stuff. Please read and review!


**A/N: Just another one-shot that I found about half written. It's loosely based around Taylor Swift's Fifteen. Enjoy! **

I set my alarm extra early for the first day of school. I wanted to make sure I had time to pick the perfect outfit and do my hair, and maybe even eat breakfast.

I picked out a new pair of dark wash jeans, red flats and a red tank top. I put a light grey sweater on, selected a silver necklace and matching earrings, and went to straighten my hair. It was the first day of school, my first day of high school. It was a big deal.

My hair straightened, I pulled it up in a high ponytail and headed downstairs. Dad handed me a muffin and I grabbed my backpack off a chair. At the bus stop in our neighborhood there were a few boys, and two sophomore girls. None of them said hi.

The bus came, and I got on and sat by myself. We arrived at the school and I took a deep breath and walked through the doors. This is high school. I'm going to be here for the next four years, and then I'm out in the world. I walked around for a few minutes and found some of my friends. We said hello and tried to stay out of the halls as much as possible. There were a lot of kids around and three-quarters of them were older than us.

We did finally go out into the hall and we started to make our way to our first classes. As soon as I broke from the group, I realized I had no idea where I was going. I looked around, hoping I would see someone I knew.

"Hey. I haven't seen you before," someone said. I turned around. It was a boy with a blue lanyard, and he was talking to me.

"Lost?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Here, I'll help you. What class do you have?"

"English. Room 108," I said.

"I'm Drew, by the way," he said.

"Emily."

"Nice to meet you Emily," he said, and he led the way through the crowds. The classroom I was looking for was all the way across the building. When we reached the room, Drew handed me a piece of paper with his cell phone number on it.

"You should call me sometime," he said.

"I will," I replied. "Thanks so much!"

I walked into the classroom and found my assigned seat. It was a class composed primarily of freshmen, so there weren't many kids there yet. There was, however, a girl sitting in the seat beside my assigned one.

"Hi, I'm Abigail," she said, nervously twisting her red hair.

"Hi. I'm Emily." I'd never seen her before, but she had gone to the same middle school as me. We talked about what other classes we had this semester, and I found out she was taking algebra and chorus at the same time I was. As it turned out, we had a lot in common, and we exchanged phone numbers before the class started.

That Friday night, Abigail and I went to the football game. We sat high up on the bleachers and watched the cheerleaders. They thought they were so cool, when really; half their cheers were out of sync. We laughed at them and their too cool attitudes. Then we did try to watch the game, but neither of us really had an understanding of how it worked.

The crowd started cheering, so I assumed that something good had happened, and when they quieted down the announcer said,

"Drew Levarska, ball carrier…" and I missed the rest of it, because that was Drew. I had yet to text or call him, because really, I thought he was just being nice. I was a freshman and he was a senior.

But maybe I could call him and tell him that he played well tonight, and then try to figure out what his motivation was. Yes, that sounded like a plan.

"Why didn't they announce the guy's number? I have no idea who they're talking about," Abigail whined.

"He's a senior," I said.

"You know him?"

"He helped me find my class on the first day and gave me his number and said I should call him."

"Wow, Emily. You should call him tonight!"

"I was planning on it."

That was all she talked about for the rest of the game. At the end, Abigail called her dad to pick us up, and I texted my dad to tell him the game was over and Abigail's dad was coming to take us back to her house for a sleepover. We were standing out in front of the school when the band walked by, and then the football team.

Drew stepped out of line and came to talk to us.

"Hi Emily!"

"Hi! Nice job tonight."

"Thanks. Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Abigail." He nodded to her.

"You didn't call me. I was hoping you would."

"Yeah. I was going to tonight."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure." We stepped a bit away from Abby and he asked,

"Do you want to go see that new movie that comes out this weekend?"

"The one about the dragons? Sure," I said.

"Are you free tomorrow afternoon? We could go to the four o'clock showing and then get dinner."

"That sounds great. I've been waiting for that movie for ages."

"Me too. I'll pick you up at three-fifteen. Where do you live?" I gave him my address, and he headed off to change, with a "see you tomorrow" tossed back after him. I walked back over to Abigail.

"Spill," she said. I took in a breath.

"Drew Levarska just asked me out," I said.

"Oh my gosh! That's great," Abigail said. Then her dad arrived, and we got in the car. At her house, Abigail and I set up our sleeping bags in the living room and turned on a movie. She pulled out her iPod to play a pointless game and I texted my mom.

Me: Drew Levarska asked me to the movies tomorrow.

Mom: That's nice. Who is he?"

Me: He's a football player. He helped me find my way around on the first day.

Mom: How old?

Me: Senior.

Mom: You shouldn't be going out with him.

Me: I'm in high school.

Mom: Well, be careful and dress respectably. And call your father.

Me: Kk.

But I didn't. I didn't call my dad.

"You should probably do what she says," Abby said, reading the texts over my shoulder.

"Yeah, I should," I said, and we both knew I wouldn't. that was how it would work.

After Abigail fell asleep, I sent a text to Gillian, not really expecting her to answer. When she did, I was surprised. It was after 2 AM.

Gillian: Hi Em. Shouldn't you be asleep?

Me: Yeah. Can't. I didn't wake you, did I?

Gillian: Nooooo…. I couldn't sleep either. What's up?

Me: Drew Levarska asked me out.

Gillian: That's great!

Me: We're going to the movies this evening. He's a senior!

Gillian: Wow! What did your dad say?

Me: Uhm…

Gillian: You haven't told him?

Me: Not yet. I'm at Abby's.

Gillian: Oh, well, tell him tomorrow.

Me: I will.

Gillian: Just be careful Em. 3

Me: Of course. Night Gill.

Gillian: Night!

Before I knew it, I was getting ready for my date. I decided on a new pair of jeans, black heels and a red top that looked particularly good on me, if I do say so myself. I did eventually tell my dad. He wasn't happy about it, but then Gill called and said she had some work related questions for him, so that cut off the shouting match before it began. I would have to remember to thank her later.

Drew showed up right at 3:15. My dad threatened him, and it was so embarrassing. Luckily Drew didn't seem to mind. He was taller than Dad, and probably stronger too. Not that I didn't love my father, he was just… overprotective.

The movie was great, and dinner was really fun. Drew took me to one of those pizza places with an arcade, so we ate and then spent a few hours playing arcade games. We combined our tickets and traded them for an adorable stuffed puppy, which Drew gave to me. Then he drove me to my mom's house. I got out of the car, and said goodnight, and he waited in the driveway until I was in the house.

I went up to my room and couldn't help but do a little happy dance. He was so sweet. I could see myself being with him forever.

Over the next few weeks we went on a couple more dates. We had a lot in common, and he was really nice. What can I say?

Abigail found a guy too. He was a junior, and he was on the math team. He wasn't one of those math nerds, though, she said. He was cool.

Things were going really well for both of us. Drew said he loved me, and I believed him, because, why shouldn't I. Abby and I drifted apart a bit, as we were each spending our free time with our respective boyfriends.

Then one day she walked into first period English right as the bell rang, and she was crying. The teacher didn't say anything, just marked her present and began class. While we were supposed to be reading, I leaned over and whispered,

"Abby? Are you okay?"

"No. It's Robby. Last night…" And she burst into tears again. Robby was her boyfriend, and immediately I was concerned. What could have happened?

"Abigail? Do you need to go out in the hall for a few minutes?" our teacher said, approaching Abby's desk. She nodded. I stood up to go with her, and Mrs. Andrews glared at me.

"Miss Lightman, your name is not Abigail."

"No. But she's my friend, and she's upset," I said, sidestepping Mrs. Andrews and following Abby.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I was so stupid. He said he loved me, and I believed him," Abby sobbed, "And we slept together. This morning he dumped me over a text."

"Oh no. That's terrible Abby," I said, starting to cry a little too. I gave Abby a hug.

That night, I was video-chatting with Drew when he got home from football practice.

"Hey, Em, my parents are going to Baltimore this weekend, want to come over?" he asked.

"Uh, Drew, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Come on Em, it'll be fun."

"I kind of had plans with Abby this weekend," I said, trying to come up with something. I didn't want to turn out like Abby.

"She'd understand, right?"

"Well… I guess. But I don't want to ditch her. She's had a hard day."

"Okay… I'll talk to you later then," he said, and he ended the call.

I looked down at the keyboard of my laptop. I really thought he loved me. He was a great kisser, and he was lots of fun to hang out with, but I guess he was just like all the other boys. He just wanted something from me that I wasn't going to give. Not just yet anyway.

I was sure that this was one of those times that later on, I'd be glad I said no, even if I lost a boyfriend over it. There were better things than dating a football player. Bigger dreams and all that. I sighed. Drew hadn't said it was over, but I knew it was. I couldn't be with him. There would be other boys. I had all the time in the world. After all, I was just fifteen.

**A/N: I'm attempting NaNoWriMo... So I may not be around for a while. On the other hand, I may just try to archive 50,000 words in fanfiction. That seems more realistic. I had this great plot all planned out and everything, and when I sit down to write it, nothing comes. And it involves a lot more research than I'd care to do right now. Now that I think about it... the fanfiction thing sounds pretty good. Maybe I'll do that! Anyway, thanks for reading, & please review! **


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